Amina, Dreaming Beyond the Walls. (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pulido, Cristina
• Other Names: Soler Marta guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Qualitative inquiry. Volume 21:Number 10(2015)
• Page Start: 886
• Page End: 892
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: biography -- communicative methodology -- Dialogic Literary Gathering -- prison; Social sciences -- Methodology -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 300.72
• DOI: 10.1177/1077800415611691
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1077-8004

Abstract

Amina is a female Moroccan prison inmate who has participated in Dialogic Literary Gatherings (DLGs) in a prison in Catalonia for 2 years. As a woman and without basic studies, she encountered many obstacles that led her into social exclusion, drug addiction, and involvement in the activities that in turn led to her incarceration. Sharing ideas with her fellow inmates about the works of Kafka and Brecht has had a significant impact on her own thoughts, allowing her to reconstruct her past and anticipate a new, hopeful future. This biography describes the transformative elements that empowered Amina to recreate her history through the literary interpretations she shared in DLG. The biography also highlights Amina's new challenges and dreams, such as pursuing secondary education during her incarceration and going to college once she leaves prison.